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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28253952">The Christmas Market</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/heylittleangel/pseuds/heylittleangel'>heylittleangel</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Holiday Fics [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supernatural</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Baker Castiel (Supernatural), British!Castiel, Castiel &amp; Meg Masters Friendship, Castiel and Dean Winchester First Meet, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas fic, Holidays, M/M, Meet-Cute, Smart Dean Winchester</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 19:20:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,377</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28253952</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/heylittleangel/pseuds/heylittleangel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Being alone in a country he didn't know was never Dean's plan. Still, he tried to make the best out of it and, in the end, he thinks he really did.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Castiel &amp; Meg Masters, Castiel/Dean Winchester</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Holiday Fics [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1579735</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Destiel Secret Santa Exchange 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Christmas Market</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/chamaenerion/gifts">chamaenerion</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey there peeps, Merry Christmas!! I hoe you have/are having a nice holiday as much as you can during these times. This story was written for the <a href="https://destielsecretsanta2020.tumblr.com/"> Destiel Secret Santa 2020 </a> for <a href="pluckydean%20tumblr"> pluckydean</a>. I really hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing and that you have an amazing Christmas! </p>
<p>Also, thank you <a href="https://kitmistry.tumblr.com/"> kitmistry</a> for helping me brainstorm and for believing in me to write this and thank you <a href="http://raiseyourpinky.tumblr.com/"> Isis</a> for being an awesome beta as usual.</p>
<p>Have fun reading it!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Spending the holidays alone; that’s exactly what Dean wanted. Even better: he was alone </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> in a country he didn’t know. Super duper great, really.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, on Christmas Eve, Dean had two choices: either stay isolated in his hotel room, sulking around, or go to the Christmas market a couple of blocks away from the hotel. The weather wasn’t terrible for either; the snow was light, the wind wasn’t strong, just a soft breeze, and the temperature was low enough so that it was just nicely cold outside. The city was pretty and so well decorated that Dean figured it wouldn’t hurt to walk around for a while. If he got bored, he could always go back to the room and watch movies as he sulked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There were still a couple of hours before the market and the show in the city started, but Dean figured he could check the town a little, maybe see what kind of foods there would be to eat, and, with some luck, find someone that’d be just as lost as him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He grabbed his coat, keys, and phone and made his way to the elevator. The floor his room was on was quiet, just two other people there—and Dean hadn’t seen much of them during his stay. There didn’t seem to be many people on the other floors either because Dean had only seen a dozen or so during those days. No surprise there, though; Dean couldn’t imagine many people would want to spend Christmas away from their families and friends; and, also, they probably weren’t crazy enough to accept their company’s offer to close a deal during the holidays.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shaking his head, Dean pushed the door open and forced himself not to think about that, otherwise, it would be hard for him to actually enjoy himself and he wanted to, especially when the city looked like </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>: there were colourful fairy lights on the shops and houses and light posts. The trees were decorated with green and red ornaments, a coat of snow on the leaves, and a few of them had what seemed to be handmade Santas, reindeers, gifts, and candy canes hanging from the branches, which Dean guessed had been made by the people who lived close by. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>On another street, white, long fairy lights hung from the trees all through the street, from one end to the other. Restaurants had pine trees by the door, colourfully decorated but all resembling its restaurant’s colour palette. There were people wearing Christmas sweaters, others were dressed in similar clothes, with a few different details so Dean figured they were families dressed alike. He also saw a couple of Santas walking through the streets, talking to the kids and giving them candies, or small gift boxes, or even taking pictures if the kid asked for it. Dean couldn’t help but smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The air smelled of cinnamon and sugar cookies, wafting through the air and making Dean’s mouth water. He hadn’t had much to eat during the day, too worried about work, and it was starting to take its toll on him now. Dean couldn’t wait to get to the market and eat as much as he could of all the delicious foods he was sure he was going to find.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The city was busy, even for Christmas Eve, buzzing with people walking around, and talking, and laughing. A few smiled at Dean when their eyes met and Dean smiled back, his heart becoming lighter as he got closer to the Christmas market, thinking it wouldn’t be so bad to spend the night in the city if everyone was so nice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The dozen different types of accents and languages mixed in a beautiful cacophony and Dean could only catch a few words here and there; he was sure there was a group speaking in one of the romance languages; a family was talking about the cookies they would take home, the best they had ever eaten, which promptly caught Dean’s attention. Cookies? Dean certainly wouldn’t mind going after them to eat as many as he could stomach.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So he followed the family from afar, just making sure he could see where they’d buy their cookies from so he could get them as well—he wasn’t being creepy, just shy and in need of cookies. Who could blame him, really?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thankfully, they were going in the same direction as Dean, which meant they probably got their cookies from one of the tents in the Christmas market, making Dean’s life a lot easier. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked around the city as he walked, admiring how caring and thoughtfully everything had been decorated. He had rarely seen Lawrence decorated for Christmas since it was normally decorated by the people, with the houses sporting fairy lights and decorated trees, which would make you realize it was Christmas time. Being in a city where everything had a reminder of Christmas and you knew everything had been done with attention and love was very different to Dean, but he was actually starting to love it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Too focused on admiring the decorations, Dean wasn’t paying attention to where he was walking until he bumped against someone with enough force to almost send the other person to the ground. Dean managed to catch the person’s arms and steady them both at the last second. Thank God for his quick reflexes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dean raised his eyes, mouth open to apologize, when he finally noticed the man he bumped into: tan skin, even though it was winter, blue eyes clearer than a cloudless sky, shining in a way Dean was certain wasn’t human, untamed black hair, a few strands falling on his eyes, and a two-day-old stubble that Dean had a sudden urge to run his hand over. The man was the most beautiful person Dean had ever seen in his entire life and he was sure he could just stare at him and admire how pretty he looked with the colourful lights shining on his face for the rest of the night.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man’s lips moved but Dean didn’t understand a word that came out of them, thinking only how soft they looked and if they would really be soft if Dean were to kiss them and how good the burn of the man’s stubble would be on Dean’s own cheeks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When the man seemed to have asked a question, staring at him with an inquisitorial look, Dean finally shook his head, clearing his throat as he slowly let go of the man’s shoulders. “Wh-what? Uh, sorry, can you repeat the question?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The smirk the man gave to him didn’t go unnoticed by Dean but he couldn’t exactly say anything if he didn’t want to embarrass himself even more. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I asked if you were okay,” his voice was heavy in what Dean thought was an English accent. “You looked lost for a second there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I’m, uh, completely fine.” Dean cleared his throat, finally noticing the boxes the man was carrying. “I should be asking </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> that question. I was the one who bumped into you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s fine, I wasn’t looking where I was going either.” The man opened the lid on the top box and sighed out in relief. “The cookies are okay so there’s nothing to worry about.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The words didn’t quite reach Dean’s ears but he nodded, scanning the crowd for the family he had been following. He couldn’t find them anywhere. He looked behind him and then behind the man, but he had definitely lost the trail. It sucked but he was already in the market so it shouldn’t be so difficult to find the stand he wanted and—</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you looking for someone?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh?” Dean turned back to the man, his cheeks blushing. “Um, yes, actually, but this is gonna sound weird.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you knew my brother, you wouldn’t worry about weird. Do you need help?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh no, it’s completely fine, I’ll just find my way around.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man waved him off, turning so he could face the same direction as Dean. “Nonsense. You did keep me from falling flat on the ground and smashing the cookies, so more than fair I help you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well,” Dean chuckled, “I did bump into you because I wasn’t paying attention so it was nothing, really.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Still, I would like to help.” Dean had never been one for accents but this guy’s accent was certainly too sweet to listen to and Dean never wanted him to stop talking, so he wasn’t going to refuse spending more time with the man. “Who are you looking for?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um, okay, this is gonna sound creepy but I swear it isn’t—I was actually kinda following a family that was talking about cookies and I wanted to see where they got them from. I’m more of a pie guy myself, but you never say no to cookies, especially Christmas cookies.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man chuckled, nodding. “I can’t blame you, I would’ve done the same thing. But I think I know the stand you’re talking about. I can take you there if you’d like.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’d be an angel if you did, thank you so much.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not a problem. I’m Castiel, by the way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dean accepted the man’s hand and he couldn’t believe how soft and warm it felt. “Dean.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He smiled broadly at Dean and Dean almost turned into a puddle right there and then. “Nice to meet you, Dean. Come on, it’s this way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Castiel led Dean through the crowd, waving and talking to some of the people of the other stands, sending warm and big smiles to them. He told Dean their names and what they sold and even what foods he should definitely eat if he was going to stay at the market. Dean had no idea how Castiel managed to know everyone like that, considering he was probably just visiting; his English accent did not hint at him living in a German city. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still, it was nice seeing how much the people seemed to like Castiel, asking if he wanted something to eat or about someone named Jack that Dean figured must’ve been someone from Castiel’s family. A few smiled at Dean too, nodding and asking him how he was. Some were even nicer and offered him free samples of what they were selling. Dean tried a sausage called </span>
  <em>
    <span>wurst</span>
  </em>
  <span>, roasted almonds, lángos, a kind of fried dough topped with cheese, and currywurst. From all of those, Dean couldn’t decide on a favourite because they were all so good.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wanted to stop to check some more sweets but Cas insisted on taking him to eat the cookies first, promising he’d take Dean to walk around after so he could try some more, which Dean couldn’t exactly complain about.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When they got to the cookie stand, there was a young, brunette woman running it, boxes with plastic lids full of cookies on the table in front of her, talking to a customer. She had a pretty smile and the customer seemed to be blushing at her words, ahis hold on a large bag of cookies shaky as he paid her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cas dropped the boxes he had next to the others and seemed to check all of them, writing something down on the papers next to the woman. She didn't seem to mind, paying no attention to Cas as she finished talking to the customer, and, now that Dean could finally hear her words, he realized they were nothing short of flirty—probably the reason why the man was blushing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dean awkwardly stood next to Cas, swaying from one side to the other, until the customer went away and the woman turned to face Cas, lips open in a smile. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Clarence. I thought you had gotten lost." While Cas had an English accent, the woman's accent was clearly American, just like Dean's. How they both knew each other and had ended up in Germany, Dean had no idea.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cas only smiled at her, shaking his head fondly. "I got a little sidetracked," he pointed at Dean, who waved shyly. "Meg, this is Dean. Dean, this is Meg, my partner."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dean's heart made a little dance of jealousy but he faked a smile. "Partner, huh? Nice to meet you, Meg." He extended his hand to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh yeah, someone has to sell these cookies here." Dean's face probably looked weird and confused, because both Cas and Meg laughed. "This stand here belongs to both of us but the cookies are definitely Cas's," she explained</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cas blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I, uh, I actually just bake them. I’m not very good with people so Meg deals with that part while I stick to the kitchen.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Meg flashed a flirty smile to Dean and, just from that, he could see why she was the one taking care of the customers. "Otherwise, he'd scare off everyone."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hey! I'm not </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> bad." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Meg raised a brow and stared at Dean with a doubtful expression, making Dean chuckle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He also realized that Cas and Meg were </span>
  <em>
    <span>business</span>
  </em>
  <span> partners, not romantic ones, which Dean was more than happy to know about. Noticing as they discussed something about the sales and the cookies, it was easy to see the banter between them and that they acted like very old friends, just as Dean and Charlie acted when they were together. The difference was in how </span>
  <em>
    <span>different</span>
  </em>
  <span> Castiel and Meg were; and Dean didn’t even need to know them all too well to notice that. Meg was an extrovert, flirty by nature, and looked a lot like a troublemaker. Castiel, on the other hand, seemed shy and quiet, the kind of person you’d barely notice was there from how silent he’d be. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still, the two seemed to be pretty good friends and they probably got along very well if they always acted like they were now; they also probably had to if they were partners in a business. You don’t open something with someone you don’t trust two hundred percent—Dean had made that mistake once and never will again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They got lost in conversation for a while, Cas insisting Dean tried each cookie to tell him if he liked it. Dean praised Cas for all of them because Dean had never eaten cookies that good, not even his Mom's came close—not that Dean would ever admit it to her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Meg asked Dean about his life and what he was doing in Germany. He only said he was there for work because they didn't have anyone but Dean to send there, so here he was. The two talked a lot about different subjects, asking each other questions and finding common grounds as Cas was called away by someone—Dean thought it was one of the people they had passed on their way to the stand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cas narrowed his eyes at Meg as he fixed his coat, closing up a few buttons. "Meg, no scaring Dean off as you usually do with new people."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She faked hurt, placing a hand on her heart. "Hey, I never do that."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cas only hummed skeptically, one brow raised at her, but smiling at Dean before walking towards the person waiting for him. Dean suddenly felt self-conscious about himself, feeling Meg’s eyes bore into his back as he watched Cas walk away. He turned back to her and Meg patted the chair by her side, scooting just an inch to the side so they could look at each other once Dean sat, pretending his hands weren’t sweating under her gaze.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, Dean,” she started, picking at her perfectly done nails, watching Dean from under her lashes. “Where are you from?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Okay, that wasn’t such a bad start.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Originally, Lawrence, but I’m currently living in Lebanon. And you? You seem American.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I am. I’m from Massachusetts.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dean raised a brow, accepting the cookie Meg offered him. “And how did you end up in Germany of all places?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well,” she chuckled, breaking a piece of a vanilla cookie. “I never got along with my parents very well so I ended up moving away while still young. Got a scholarship in England early and decided to go, because why wouldn’t I?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And that’s where you met Cas?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yep. Clarence and I were in the same class and the teacher put us to work together after we got into </span>
  <em>
    <span>various</span>
  </em>
  <span> fights and gave the school all kinds of trouble.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dean laughed, shaking his head. “Cas got into fights? He seems so calm, not at all aggressive.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, don’t let that pretty face and incredible cooking skills fool you, Dean. Clarence can fight better than anyone I’ve ever seen and he has a sharp tongue too. We’d bicker during the whole class, throwing insults around the room and always stopping class to say the other was wrong. We made life a living hell in that place.” She smiled, brushing the crumbs off her lap. “Good times.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No offence, but you do seem like the troublemaker kind so I’m not very surprised.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It was a good title to have. People had no idea how smart I am because of that."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dean smiled, nodding. “I know the feeling. People definitely didn’t believe I was a good student because I always got in trouble too and because I was on the basketball team. I mean, definitely not the type of student you’d expect to be a straight-A student, huh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Meg chuckled, standing up. “You’re not wrong. So, what do you work with today?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I work at an IT company and I take care of one of the teams, talking to the clients and making sure things run as smoothly as possible, trying to avoid fights.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And people in IT </span>
  <em>
    <span>fight</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dean laughed out loud, pushing himself up and straightening his back. “You have </span>
  <em>
    <span>no</span>
  </em>
  <span> idea.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then let’s get you some cookies to make you feel better, you poor thing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They each ate half of a cookie of each flavour, Meg filling a big bag with Dean’s favourites as their chatting turned to small talk, mostly Meg telling Dean how life is in Germany and about her experience working in the Christmas market for a few years now. It wasn’t long before they saw Cas walking back to the stand, hands buried in his pockets and hair messy from the breeze. Dean couldn’t fight the smile that came to his lips or the heat that built in his gut, pretending it was only his clothes that were making him hot.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cas got to the stand just as Dean handed Meg the money for the cookies, accepting the bag from her hands. He smiled at Cas, showing him the bag. “Dude, you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>amazing</span>
  </em>
  <span>. If I kidnap you, would you bake these cookies for me every day? I swear I’ll be a nice kidnapper.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cas chuckled, shaking his head at Dean. “I’m going to have to get a raincheck on the kidnapping but I’ll gladly bake you more cookies if you wish.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Would never say no to that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Meg tsked at them, sitting back on her chair. “So, Clarence, did you manage to solve whatever you went to solve?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes.” Cas placed a few business cards on top of the table. “There was a customer giving Balthazar some hell to deal with so I just… went there to see what it was all about. Weirdly, the man suddenly realized Balthazar was right and decided to leave.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Meg laughed, shoulders shaking. “I’m sure it was all very ‘sudden’. Glad to know you dealt with it, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, when </span>
  <em>
    <span>haven’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> I dealt with something like that?” Meg shrugged, nodding. Cas turned to Dean with a smile. “I thought I might show you around now, stop at the best places to eat. Unless you’re too stuffed from the cookies.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dean stopped mid-movement, half a cookie in his mouth, staring at Cas with wide eyes. “No,” he answered through a full mouth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Both Cas and Meg laughed, Cas shaking his head as he started walking to one side of the market, waving Dean with him. Dean waved at Meg, thanking her for the cookies and the talk before following him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two of them walked to one side of the market, their shoulders pressing together. They were silent for a while, Dean watching the decorations and the stands, trying to guess which of the foods seemed better. He didn’t have to ponder for long because Cas pulled him to one of the stands, a few feet to their left, hand wrapped around Dean’s wrist.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They stopped to grab a bag of roasted almonds, thanking the young lady taking care of the stand before resuming their walk. They shared the bag between them, sometimes throwing an almond in the other’s mouth, laughing every time they managed to get it right. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>While Cas checked a stand with Christmas decorations, with angels and Santas and all kinds of different ornaments, Dean broke the silence between them, “Cas, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you and Meg end up being friends? She said you two met in England during school.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cas chuckled, the corners of his eyes wrinkling as he shook his head. “Oh yes, good times were those. Did she tell you we used to hate each other?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dean smiled. “Yeah, she mentioned it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, after a couple of months or so of our little disputes, one of our teachers decided it was enough and she forced us to work together. One hundred percent of our grade depended on this project she gave us and we had to work together for the rest of the year to get it done.” Cas handed one of the angels to the man in charge of the stand, smiling at him as he handed the money to pay for it. “We still had the same exams as the rest of our class, which made it even harder. In the beginning, we refused to cooperate, each trying to do the whole project by ourselves, and I’m sure you know it didn’t work.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In the end, I got over my pride and went after Meg to tell her we needed to at least be civil to each other and get the project done or we’d get reproved.” Cas thanked the man with a smile, putting the change in his pockets. “And so we started to work together, keeping it strictly about the project. After a few weeks, I was reading a book while I waited for Meg and, when she got there, she said she loved that book, which was how we started talking to each other about something other than school.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dean chuckled, shaking his head. “What </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> books do, huh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cas smiled, handing Dean the bag with almonds. “Tell me about it. We ended up finding out we had lots in common and became friends soon after. And, to be honest, not sure if that was better for the school and the teachers because we still made studying there a living hell. We were </span>
  <em>
    <span>impossible</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And here I was, thinking you had been a quiet student.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, everyone thinks that but I was the complete opposite.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They laughed as they stopped at the next stand and Dean looked for a souvenir for his parents and for Sam. “And how did you two end up here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well,” Cas hesitated for a second, his voice becoming strained. “We both had problems with our families so we ended up spending a lot of time together, especially while running as much as we could from them. We’d live at school so we wouldn’t have to go home and Meg would usually go with me to mine since her parents didn’t live in England. It was easier with both of us together and we got through school like that, until we were about to go to college. Meg’s parents had already died by the time we were in our last year and my parents were becoming worse and worse with me after they found out I’m not straight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dean grimaced, nodding in understanding. “It really makes the relationship become strained, huh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cas sighed. “Tell me about it. Anyway, neither of us wanted to be there so we decided to move away and the first place we agreed on was Germany.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can’t say it was a bad choice. The country seems to be pretty good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And it is. Neither of us ever regretted moving here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dean paid for the souvenirs he chose, accepting the bag and the change. “So that’s why you two aren’t spending the holidays with family?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes.” They walked for a few seconds in silence before Cas talked again, “What about you? Why are you here in Germany during Christmas?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, most of the people that work with me have partners and/or kids, so no one wanted to spend Christmas away from their families. But we also needed this deal done and we </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed</span>
  </em>
  <span> to have someone here to close it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you were the obvious choice?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dean shrugged, kicking a pebble away. “Well, I don’t have a partner or kids, just my parents and my brother with his fianceé. I speak German too, so I guess I really was the obvious choice to come and I was crazy enough to accept it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cas stopped him in front of the big tree in the center of the market. “Well, I’m also alone so we could spend Christmas day together. I can teach you the recipe for the cookies if you’d like.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you often invite strangers over? That’s dangerous, y’know, and naïve.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well,” Cas smiled, “I prefer the term trusting’.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dean chuckled. “If you say so, Mr. Trusting. I’d love to, but only if it’s no problem.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not at all, Dean. I’d love to have you over and it’s a lot better than spending Christmas alone, don’t you think?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It sure is.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They exchanged numbers, Cas promising he’d send Dean the address for his apartment once he got home, and then they said their goodbyes. Dean went back to the hotel daydreaming about Cas’s blue eyes and accent, a smile plastered on his lips all the walk back. At the end, Dean figured spending Christmas in another country hadn’t been so bad after all.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So, did you like it? Leave a comment and a kudo and make this writer very happy!</p>
<p>As always, you can find me on <a href="http://gii-heylittleangel.tumblr.com/"> tumblr</a></p>
<p>Merry Christmas!! 🎅🎅🎁</p></blockquote></div></div>
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